We have all most likely heard the phrase, “Communication is Key.” It is usually connected to an intimate relationship like a marriage or a friendship. The phrase is also used in most job places. Now that I’m involved in ministry, I realize it applies to the Church as well.

My wife and I used to think we were good communicators. We found out we were good “assumers” and it tore us apart. We ended up in marriage counseling on opposite ends of a couch unable to speak to one another. Our counselor made us open up a line of “real” communication sitting on that couch. She made us have direct communication whether it was good or bad. It was awful; at first. We realized we didn’t know each other anymore.

After about a month, we found that we really enjoyed going to counseling. We found that direct communication with each other was fixing most of our problems because we no longer had to assume what each other wanted. We had to humble ourselves and listen. We knew how we felt or what we wanted because we got the information directly from the source. We learned to compromise. We became unified once we began to communicate. We found out that communication was, indeed, the key.

Christ and the Church are compared to a marriage between a man and a woman in Ephesians 5. A church must communicate between the leadership, the body, and individual members. Such as: Is a church communicating the truth it is teaching? Meaning, is the church on the same page about what truth is?

Is a church communicating the issues? Meaning, if there is an issue, is it addressed in a biblical way? Is it addressed to the congregation? Do members with issues communicate with one another a biblical way? Members of a church cannot be afraid to communicate with one another directly. In fact, it is a unifying process. How can God bless a body that is not unified?